Nigeria’s external reserves have exceeded $35 billion, making it a record under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

News media, Nairametrics‘ report on Wednesday showed that Nigeria’s FX reserves have increased yet again, reaching $35.05bn as of Monday, July 8, 2024, according to the Central Bank’s external reserve data.

“It was noted that the reserves have reached the highest level since May 30, 2023 when it was $35.09 billion, about 14 days before the introduction of the foreign exchange (FX) unification policy in June 2023,” Nairametrics stated.

This is the first time it has crossed the $35 billion ceiling under the administration of President Tinubu whose inauguration took place on May 29, 2023.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently introduced some Foreign Exchange (FX) policies while there were commitments from the likes of Afrexim Bank and the World Bank in terms of loans.

It now appears that those steps have gone a long way in boosting the country’s FX reserves to a record $35.5bn under the Tinubu-led Federal Government.

On May 29, 2023, the country’s external reserves were about $35.09bn but plummeted to $34.66bn when the CBN announced the FX unification policy.

“From July to December 2023, the reserves fluctuated within the $33 billion range,” the report read.

“This year, the reserves experienced three months of noticeable fluctuations, plunging to a low of $32.11 billion on April 19, 2024.

“The central bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, had to address the issue of the decline at the last IMF Spring meeting, where he said that the decreasing reserves were primarily due to debt repayments and other standard financial obligations, rather than efforts to defend the naira.

“However, since then, a gradual and consistent upward trajectory has been observed, coinciding with a period of exchange rate stability.”